What is a Census Taker?
Open the door to a census taker and open doors for your community
On May 1, census takers will begin going to door-to-door in Dublin as part of a nationwide effort to contact the roughly 48 million households that did not mail back their forms. They will also verify that housing units indicated as "unoccupied" to us by the postal service or others are indeed unoccupied and vacant.
In Dublin, 83 percent of households have returned their census forms, compared to 72 percent nationally and 76 percent statewide.
A census taker is a person from the community who is hired by the Census Bureau to ensure that every neighborhood gets represented as accurately as possible. The census taker's primary responsibility is to collect census information from residences that have not sent back their 2010 Census form.
The Census Bureau provides the census taker with a binder containing all of the addresses that didn't send back a filled out census form. The census taker then visits all of those addresses and records the answers to the questions on the form.
If no one answers at a particular residence, a census taker will visit a home up to three times and attempt to reach the household by phone three times. The census worker will leave a double-sided (English and Spanish) notice of visit in the doorway that includes a phone number for the resident to schedule an appointment.
The census taker will ONLY ask the questions that appear on the census form.
The primary impact is that population figures determine the distribution of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the drawing of legislative districts. Data gathered with the census also is used to allocate trillions of dollars in federal funding allocation and plan for economic development strategies, social programs, roads and public works projects, emergency services, hospitals, senior centers, schools, job training centers and other important services.
Census data is used for forecasting transportation needs and growth trends, developing public safety strategies, advocating for causes, rescuing disaster victims, preventing diseases, researching markets, locating pools of skilled workers, and more.
Do I have to talk to the census taker?
Yes. Your participation in the 2010 Census is vital and required by law, (Section 221, of Title 13 of the U.S. Code). However, rather than rely on criminal charges, the Census Bureau is very successful in getting participation by explaining the importance of the questions we ask and how the information benefits our communities.
Census Bureau: It’s In Our Hands
The U.S. Census Bureau has a message for everyone living in the United States: “It’s in our hands.”
Data gathered with the Census is used to set House of Representative district boundaries, allocate trillions of dollars in federal funding allocation, and plan everything from economic development strategies to social programs.
The City of Dublin urges its residents to complete the 2010 U.S. Census. The forms are brief – just 10 questions – but make a huge difference to communities.
The U.S. Constitution requires that the federal government count every resident in the United States and Puerto Rico every 10 years in a national census. All data collected is protected under federal law. This count includes non-citizens living in this country.
The primary impact is that population figures determine the distribution of representatives in the U.S. House of Representatives and the drawing of legislative districts.
Census data also helps determine distribution of an estimated $4 trillion in federal funds for roads and public works projects, emergency services, hospitals, senior centers, schools, job training centers and other important services.
Census data is used for performing economic development, forecasting transportation needs and growth trends, developing public safety strategies, advocating for causes, rescuing disaster victims, preventing diseases, researching markets, locating pools of skilled workers, and more.
The forms must be completed and returned by April 1. Between May and July, census bureau workers will visit residences that have not returned the forms and attempt to gather the data for the 10 questions. That data includes name, gender, age, race, ethnicity, relationship and whether the head of household rents or owns the home. It does not ask about the legal status of respondents or Social Security information.
Filling out the surveys saves tax dollars, too. For every percentage point increase in the mail-back response rate, the federal government saves $85 million.
The forms are available in six languages: English, Spanish, simplified Chinese, Korean, Russian and Vietnamese. English/Spanish bi-lingual forms will be mailed to areas with large numbers of Spanish-only households. People may request a form in one of the five non-English languages via toll-free numbers that will be available closer to Census Day.
However, language assistance guides are available in 59 different languages to help people fill out the English version of the census form. You may also access large print and Braille guides and a language reference dictionary.
Preparations for the “It’s in Our Hands” 2010 Census have been underway for months, but the push to communicate the importance of taking the Census are just beginning.
The 2010 Census is shorter than previous once thanks to the establishment of the American Community Survey, which is conducted on an ongoing basis. That survey produces a detailed picture of American communities.
For additional details on the 2010 Census, including a look at the 2010 form, visit www.census.gov.